DaLat tour destination, past and present

At the well-known Langbian area in the central highlands city of Da Lat, there is a man who may not be rich, but he is the happiest person there because he owns a rich collection of Da Lat prestige.

More than 1,000 things belonging to him are now displayed at the city's Valley of Love, ranging from a money calculator from the 18th century and French Pathe gramophones to tiny Singer planes.

Vietnamese currency collections from Bao Dai, Dong Duong, and French colonialist periods and pottery collections from China's Ming Dynasty are more of his treasures.

The 45-year-old Nguyen Van Tuan said that in 1992, he found an old bronze urn that he thought was ancient and liked it very much, but at that time did not have enough money to buy it. "Since then, I have been performing music at functions, teaching music and doing other jobs to save money for my wish," he said.

Three years later, his collection contained about 100 things, including celadon sets that were usually used by kings to avoid toxic substances. If there was any poisonous substance, the celadon's color would change.

Tuan also said that immediately after paying debts after buying valuable ancient things, he borrows again to buy others. "I cannot stand seeing these things destroyed as waste," he explained.

Although he now has a large amount of debt, he does not want to sell anything in his collection and he will do everything he can to earn money to solve the problem. "I want to keep some valuable things for the following generation."